Welcome! This is written primarily for people with Type 2 Diabetes. Some information covers all types of diabetes. Always keep a positive attitude is my motto.
I am a person with diabetes type 2 and write about my experiences and research. Please discuss medical problems with your doctor. Please do not click on the advertisers that have attached to certain words in this section. They are not authorized and are robbing me by doing so.

May 29, 2015

Are You Using Your CPAP?

I wish the people who title some of
these articles could use the correct terms. I had to cringe when I
read this - "Are You Wearing Your CPAP?"
To begin with, it is impossible to wear a CPAP machine and
that is the reason for my title. Yes, if you have obstructive sleep
apnea, you should use a type of CPAP, but you will only wear the
mask.

The article in Diabetes in Control is a
good reminder of what can happen when people do not use the CPAP
equipment. In addition to elevated blood glucose levels, the
person's hypertension was also worse and he was gaining weight. The
patient was complaining about exhaustion, but eating right and taking
his medications.

The office did not make any medication
changes, but encouraged the patient to resume using his CPAP at
night, and monitor. They established remote patient monitoring, and
in the following week saw the blood pressure and glucose levels
return to his targets. In addition, the weight started to drop.
When contacted at the end of the week, the patient declared that
after using the CPAP for one night, his energy was better and he
thanked the office.

Have yourself screened for sleep
apnea, and referred to sleep labs/sleep specialists if you suspect a
sleep issue.

For the patient's provider:

If you know your patient has sleep
apnea, ask the simple question, "Are you using your CPAP
machine?"

If your patient is not using
his/her CPAP, ask why. Sometimes the answer is simple, and a simple
solution can turn things around. Sometimes it is because it is
uncomfortable. If uncomfortable, encourage your patient to contact
their sleep medicine team to help recommend a device that is more
comfortable.

Follow up with your patients to
make sure they use the recommended treatment. If they aren't using
the recommended treatment, find out why, and help problem solve.

I can say from experience that using my
CPAP machine makes my diabetes and blood pressure (hypertension)
easier to manage. While my weight loss is not as rapid as I would
like, using my CPAP is helping me avoid weight gain.

No comments:

Search

Subscribe To

About Me

I am enjoying life, despite diabetes type 2. I am retired and enjoying the time I have for writing and photography. I was diagnosed with type 2 on Oct 2003, on oral meds for 4 months and they were doing nothing to really improve my daily readings. By cutting my carbohydrates I received the most improvement, but still not enough. Then I requested insulin, even though I did not like the thought of needles. That brought about the biggest change and A1c's in the lower 6's and upper 5's. Now I am working at maintaining them under 6.0 and hopefully nearer 5.5.